West Palm Beach Police Department is serious in joining other Law Enforcement Agencies and Insurance Companies in the fight against Insurance Fraud.

If you have any information on Insurance Fraud, contact your local Police Department or NICB at 1-800-TEL-NICB. Rewards are available.

Information on Vehicle Theft Fraud

Report: The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) estimates 10-15 percent of the vehicles reported stolen are actually frauds.

Greed is the motivating factor for most insurance fraud perpetrators. Some perpetrators fraudulently report their vehicle stolen in an attempt to collect insurance money. Others try to dispose of their vehicle because they cannot afford car payments.

Here are some of the most common vehicle theft fraud schemes.

In this scheme, the vehicle owner orchestrates the destruction of the vehicle to collect insurance money. The “stolen” vehicle is often found burned in a secluded area, submerged in a lake or, in some extreme cases, buried underground.

The 30-day special is often perpetrated by owners whose vehicles need extensive repairs. They will report the vehicle stolen and hide it for 30 days--just long enough for the insurance company to settle the claim. Once the claim is paid, the vehicle is often found abandoned.

In this scheme, the insurance fraud perpetrator purchases or rents a vehicle, insures it, and then ships it to an overseas conspirator. Once the conspirator sells the vehicle, the perpetrator reports it stolen. The insurance company covers the loss, while the fraud ring profits from the sale of the vehicle.

This scheme occurs when an individual creates a phony title or registration to secure insurance on a non-existent vehicle. The insured will later report the vehicle stolen before filing a fraudulent insurance claim. Often antique or luxury vehicles will be used, since the more valuable the vehicle, the larger the settlement.

Sometimes an individual will claim to be a vehicle theft victim to avoid criminal prosecution for another crime. For example, a vehicle owner who hit a parked car or telephone pole may abandon the vehicle and report it stolen to avoid paying for the damages.

Investigators from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) have seen nearly every type of vehicle theft fraud imaginable. One NICB agent uncovered a “stolen” car in a quarry with an ice scraper holding down the gas pedal. Here are the results from some other interesting investigations.

Acting on a tip from an insurance company, NICB agents dug through a 400- ton pile of tree clippings to recover a “stolen” 1988 Cadillac Allante. Ironically, the owner of the compost yard reported the same vehicle stolen and collected more than $24,000 from his insurance company.

In another NICB stolen car case, a man reported his Corvette stolen. Little did he know, the Corvette's previous owners had installed a tracking device on the vehicle. The police located the “stolen”vehicle within an hour--parked in his best friend's garage.

A retired doctor received $270,000 from his insurance company when he claimed his prized collection of nine classic cars was “stolen” from a storage facility. The overzealous doctor claimed his tools were stolen with the cars. Agents soon discovered the receipts for the tools turned out to be fictitious--so were the cars.

Insurance fraud is a crime, and perpetrators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you are convicted of insurance fraud, you face fines and possible incarceration!

Educating Against Insurance Fraud The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society (CPCU) have joined forces under the banner “Educating Against Insurance Fraud” to fight insurance fraud by heightening public awareness of its cost and national impact.

NICB is the industry's premier representative in the global investigative fight against insurance fraud. The CPCU Society is an organization of more than 30,000 credentialed insurance professionals who promote and adhere to high standards of ethical conduct. Together, we are committed to reducing insurance fraud through education.